1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a machine for attaching fasteners, such as clinch-type and snap-type buttons each having a pair of claws, to a garment, and more particularly to an apparatus for placing such buttons one at a time on a die in a predetermined direction or orientation.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Machines for attaching fasteners, such as clinch-type and snap-type buttons, to a garment are known in which a button and its mating fastener part are delivered at a time from their respective chutes to a die and a punch, respectively, and are then clinched or joined together by the punch and die with the garment placed therebetween. If the button bears on its front side a design, mark, symbol or emblem requiring a specified orientation or direction in which the button is to be placed on a garment, the button must be oriented in such direction before the button arrives at the die.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication (Kokai) No. 52-13943 discloses an apparatus for orienting buttons, each having a pair of claws projecting from a rear side of a disk-like button head and spaced from each other radially of the disk-like head. The prior apparatus includes a pair of guide blocks mounted in a travelling path of the buttons by means of compression springs and having a pair of confronting wave-shaped edges defining a labyrinth passageway of a varying width decreasing progressively toward the die. During the travel of the individual button through the labyrinth passageway, the button turns or rolls, until it is oriented in a predetermined orientation or direction, as the confronting wave-shaped edges slidingly and resiliently engage the two claws of the button. However, this known apparatus requires a relatively large number of structural members and is hence complex in construction and expensive to manufacture.